Box_Bash game

[madscijr]

This is a really neat looking game, I love the graphics and the ability to zoom in/out. 
The object of the game is simple enough and it's interesting having all those tools.

The game play is a little confusing, a little frustrating. 

• I had to zoom out to see the "door", and was confused until I did.
  
• I spent a lot of effort trying to guide a box and then it just "dies" - why? 
  
• It's awkward having to use the mouse with one hand and the keyboard with the other, if you move your hand, you have to look down to find the D and F keys.
  
• The sounds are not bad but can get a little annoying after a while.
  

I think it would benefit from a couple minor changes, but also inspired a lot of ideas:

• More detailed instructions! 
  - Describe what each tool does in more detail.
  - Explain how money works - you "spend" money every time you use a tool? And you earn more by saving a box? 
  - Explain the rules for what makes a box "die"
  
  
• Tweak the controls
  - Instead of just using the keyboard to change tools, also let the user right-click or middle-click for that.
  - Also support the spacebar to change to the next tool (since it's easy to locate on the keyboard).
  - Also support the arrow keys, something like up/down to zoom in/out, and left/right to cycle to the previous/next tool
  - Maybe also let the user press 0-9 to quickly use a certain tool w/o having to change to it (display the key next to the associated tool off to the side)
  - Let the user configure the controls with the keys/mouse functions/combinations they prefer, and save to a preferences file?
  
  
• Game options
  - Enable/disable whether the boxes "expire"
  - Enable/disable whether all tools are available from the start or whether tools are gradually added
  - Enable/disable whether tools cost money.
  - Option for "box killer" objects, which are randomly placed at the beginning of a round, and if a box lands on it, it dies instantly.
  - Option for "pac man" or "pirahna", which randomly swims across the screen and eats any boxes in its path, or eats one of the player's tools.
  - Option for more than one door.
  
  
• Tweak how the boxes are displayed
  - Change the color of each box or better yet, have it get smaller the longer it's on the screen, so the player can see which ones are in danger of "expiring". 
  - Maybe have different kinds of objects falling, not just boxes, which fall at different speeds or are elastic or not, where the more difficult ones award more points.
  
  
• Tweak the tool selector
  - It would be nice to be able to see icons for all the tools off to the side of the screen, with the cost next to each, and the current tool highlighted.
  - Let the user change the tool with the mouse wheel - maybe holding down spacebar + mouse wheel changes tool?
  
  
• Tweak the door
  - Maybe make the door change colors or have an animated arrow pointing to it with a flashing "EXIT" sign.
  - Make it more obviously a door - instead of a square, just have a gap in the wall at the bottom of the screen.
  - Add an skill level option where with the easier levels, the door is bigger, and harder options have a smaller door.
  - Make the door smaller gradually as the game progresses.
  - Add an option where the door moves around - maybe back and forth on the bottom, or maybe circle the screen clockwise/counter-clockwise.
  - On easy levels the door moves slowly and gets faster as the game progresses.
  - On easier levels have more than one door.
  
  
• Tweak the sounds
  - option to enable/disable sound
  - volume control
  - option to change sounds/waveform
  - simple in-game music
  
  
• Add additional tools
  - Elastic/trampoline, looks like a simple line segment (click once to draw start point, click 2nd time to draw end point), when the box hits it, it bounces (depending on the angle of the surface it hits and/or the trajectory of the box)
  - Missile - similar to bomb, but launces from off screen and takes a second or two to reach the target. Slower but costs less, or maybe instead of large/small bomb, have a small missile which travels faster and large missle which is slower but more powerful.
  - Box renew, looks like a 'build box" but when a box hits it, it's "life" gets renewed. Maybe these should be limited to 3 per level? 
  - "Wormhole" - when a box falls in, it exits out the other side, or to a random location.
  - Start with a couple tools and make more available as the game progresses
  
  
• Level editor - instead of random blobs, let the user add walls or place structures in a certain way, and place a certain number of boxes, which when saved advances the player to the next level
  

Anyway, congratulations on making a very original game!